Subsoil Users May Be Obliged to Finance an Innovative Technologies Park

The Parliament of Kazakhstan is considering a draft Law "On the 'Innovative Technologies Park' Innovation-Oriented Cluster" (the "Draft Law") which may oblige subsoil users to finance the Fund managing the Innovative Technologies Park in an amount of up to 1% of their annual income.

The Draft Law provides for and governs the creation of a so-called innovation-oriented cluster based on the currently existing Innovative Technologies Park special economic zone (the "SEZ"). The plan is for the SEZ to be managed by a fund which will be a non-profit legal entity established by the Kazakhstan Government (the "Fund"). According to the current language of the Draft Law, the assets of the Fund are to be formed from, among others, the "financing provided by subsoil users within the framework of performance of their obligation to annually finance research, technology promotion and/or development in an amount of no less than one percent of their aggregate annual income from contractual operations."